Process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables



July 16,1957

PROCESS F'OR yTHE PRODUCTION OF COLOR BODES FROM FRESH VEGE'I'ABLES WATER Fmg-f5@ PAI/PLS Filed March- 28, 1955 PEPPERS HCETONE CENTR/F065 WET- SOL/D5 .SOL/D5 .SUPER/MMM? cfA/rP/rmsf WA TER PRODUCT INVENToR. .5P/c E. 700D .MMX

United States Patent Os PROCESSFORTHE PRODUCTION OF COLOR BODIES FROM FRESH VEGETABLES Eric E. Todd, Malibu, Calif.

Application March 28, 1955, Serial No.-496,9.88

10 Claims. Y(Cl. 99-148) ,This invention relates to theproduction of .oleoresin and has particular reference to the production of oleoresin color from edible vegetables.

Oneof the principal objects of this inventionV is to provide a. novel process for the production of oleoresin color from vegetables such as fresh peppers, bell peppers,.Ca1- ifornia and Mexican chili, pimiento .and paprika, the process also being applicable to recovery of thecolor bodies in tomatoes, and carotene in carrots.

Conventional oleoresin paprika has generally been .produced vfrom a high priced product whichvmustbe seeded,.stemmed and dry-ground before extraction. The lhigh-sugar content of this dried. product Vgreatly hinders fthe extraction process duev to the formation of emulsions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive .process for producing an oleoresin equivalent to paprika but utilizing fresh peppers andother vegetables as the raw material.

It is another object of this invention to provide a process for superior oleoresin color at lower costs and higher yields than has heretofore been possible.

Other objects and advantages of this invention it is believed will be readily apparent from the following detailed vdescription of a preferred embodiment thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing.

The single figure of the drawing is a ilowv sheet illustrating a preferred. embodiment of the process of this invention.

n In my cO-pending application Serial No. 473,099, led December 6, 1954, on Process for the Production of Oleoresin is described a process wherein the vegetable protein is coagulated by controlled fermentation to form a rubbery mass with the vegetable iiber which entraps the oleoresin, forming an insoluble curd which is separatedy from the soluble solids such as sugar, acids and the hot capsicum principal. The present invention is an improvement of that process and includes the substitution of a rapid precipitation step for the fermentation step of said process. iIn the present process the oleoresin color is adsorbed on an insoluble salt, thus increasing the precipitate density and resulting in the rapid settling of a rubber-like curd. This curd may be frozen, thawed, centrifuged and pressed to expel a clear liquid containingonly undesirable constituents without loss of color.

The present .invention is illustrated by the following :specific examples, but it is not intended to limit-the invention thereto,.the specific steps being shown in the accompanying iiow sheet:

Example 1 1. 1,000r pounds of fresh, fully ripe California chili peppers were washed ina rotary screen with high pres- .sure sprays to disintegrate-rotten tareask and'thoroughly remove all dirt and foreign matter.

2. The peppersA were diced, then pulped in a highspeed disintegrator such as a Rietz with a fine screen to insure a thorough breakdown of the cellular structure.

3. The puree thus produced was washed away from v2,799,588 vPatented July 16,k 1957 ICC 5 ;cellulose, rejected. The solidsr were further treated in a screw press to increase the juice recovery.

5. The centrifuged and pressed juice fwas combined and accumulated in a vat, and a slurry of approximately 20- pounds of-plaster. ofParisY (gypsum heated to remove vof its` water of crystallization) was added to the juice with. moderate agitation. Addition plaster of Paris may be used if denser precipitates of less volume are desired. `The actual-quantity of plaster Vof Paris varies of course, depending uponthe. amount of oleoresin present. Generally, fromabout toabout 30 pounds is suicient. Gypsum'itselfv (CaSO4) may be used, but the plaster of Parisappears to. be superior.

. 6. After the addition of the plaster of Paris the mix was rendered alkaline by theaddition of about l2 pounds of slaked--lime (calcium hydroxide), the pH being thus advjustedftoaboutll. Usually, from about .4 to about 12 v.pounds oflime are required. vOtheralkaline materials, ,such as ammonia, may be used to Vadjust the pH. Superior precipitation is .accomplished by allowing the oleoresin toadsorb. on thev plaster of Paris before it is coagulated by thealkaline lime. A heavy rubbery curd appeared, which sank rapidly to the bottom of the vat. The .supernatant liquor containing the hot capsicum principal` as kwell as the sugars kand chlorophyll in solution weresiphoned off as thecurd sunk.

7. Water was addedto wash the. curd, and the slurry was pumped yto a centrifuge where the liquor was rejected.

8. The curd was frozen and then thawed.

9. The thawed. curd was again vcentrifuged to produce about pounds of low moisture oleoresin cake. This moistcake contained color units .equivalent to about 18 pounds of standard 30,000 units per pound of oleoresin color. vThe cake is useful as such and may be stored for several 4days without color loss, or may be frozen for an .indefinite period.

10. Further carryingout the process, although not essential, the cake was powdered in a mill and mixed with about. two volumes of acetone.

1l. The mixture was centrifuged to produce a water- Yacetone mix from which the acetone wasrecovered. A small vamount of oleoresin was extracted along with the water. Other water-miscible solvents such as ethyl or isopropyl alcohol may be used.

12. The water-free cake was then treated with petroleum ether and centrifuged to give a solution of the desired oleoresin oil.

13. The oleoresin color solution .was evaporated in a still from which was removed a concentrated oleoresin solution suitable for use as such or which may be purified by vacuum distillation or other conventional methods.

Example 2 carotene crystals, which were filtered off. In this manner,

65 approximately 70% of the carotene was recovered as crystals, leaving the remainder in the carrot oil.

The process of this invention has been applied to pimientos, bell peppers, Mexican chili-peppers, California (Anaheim) chili peppers, tomatoes and carrots. `The 0 present process is fast and continuou-s and eliminates the necessity for long precipitation or extraction periods. The plaster of Paris-alkaline precipitation step results in a dense precipitate which is not slimy and hence is readily centrifuged and pressed. The color bodies are -strongly held in the presence of water but readily released in the presence of an organic solvent. The freezing step and use of the water miscible solvent provide simple but effective means to remove water without oxidizing the oleoresin color.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the details set forth, but my invention is of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to -said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, and removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd.

2. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables 4selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots cornprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with Water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd, and extracting the color bodies from said curd with a solvent.

3. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the goup consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to about 11.0 to form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, and removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd.

4. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots cornprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with Water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to about 11.0 to form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, removing the water and water soluble constituents from -said curd, and extracting the color bodies from said curd with a solvent.

5. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to -said juice, adjusting the pI-I of the resulting mixture to about 11.0 by the addition of slaked lime to form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, and removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd.

6. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comavsasss 4 prising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree, separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to about 11.0 by the addition of slaked lime to form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd, and extracting the color bodies from said curd with a solvent.

7. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture by the addition of slaked lime to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, and removing the water and water -soluble constituents from said curd.

8. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture by the addition of slaked lime to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, removing the water and water soluble constituents from said curd, and extracting the color bodies from said curd with a solvent.

9. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of peppers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pI-I of the resulting mixture to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, freezing and then thawing said curd, and removing supernatant water therefrom.

10. A process for the production of color bodies from fresh vegetables selected from the group consisting of papers, pimientos, paprika, tomatoes and carrots comprising the steps of disintegrating said vegetables and extracting the juice and pulp therefrom with water to form a puree separating the juice from said pulp, adding plaster of Paris to said juice, adjusting the pH of the resulting mixture to render the same alkaline and form a curd wherein the color bodies are absorbed on said plaster of Paris, freezing and then thawing said curd, removing supernatant water therefrom, dehydrating said curd by extraction with a water-miscible solvent and extracting the color bodies from said dehydrated curd with a solvent.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,953,607 Holmes et al Apr. 3, 1934 2,098,110 Schertz et al Nov. 2, 1937 2,348,443 Barnett May 9, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 700,509 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Serial No. 348,557, Mauri (A. P. C.), published April 20, 1943. 

1. A PROCESS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COLOR BODIES FROM FRESH VEGETABLES SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING PEPPERS, PIMIENTOS, PAPRIKA, TOMATOES AND CARROTS COMPRISING THE STEPS OF DISINTEGRATING SAID VEGETABLES AND EXTRACTING THE JUICE AND PULP THEREFROM WITH WATER TO FORM A PUREE, SEPARATING THE JUICE FROM SAID PULP, ADDING PLASTER OF PARIS TO SAD JUICE, ADJUSTING THE PH OF THE RESULTING MIXTURE TO RENDER THE SAME ALKALINE AND FORM A CURD WHEREIN THE COLOR BODIES ARE ABSORBED ON SAID PLATER OF PARIS, AND REMOVING THE WATER AND WATER SOLUBLE CONSTITUENTS FROM SAID CURD. 